Presidency of the Seventy
Historically, seven members of the First Quorum of the Seventy are called to serve as the Presidency of the Seventy. This precedent was broken, however, when Elder Robert C. Oaks of the Second Quorum of the Seventy was sustained to the Presidency to fill the vacancy created by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf's call to the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
They provide direction for the seventies and serve the apostles and president of the chuch. The Presidency of the Seventy is unique in that not only are there seven members but all seven hold the keys of presidency. The man with the longest tenure of uninterrupted service is called to preside over the other six.
With the release of all area presidencies in North America, the Presidency of the Seventy are now directly responsible for supervising the Church in North America. The current Presidency (as of the October 2005 General Conference) consists of:
- Earl C. Tingey
- D. Todd Christofferson
- Charles Didier
- Merrill J. Bateman
- Robert C. Oaks
- Neil L. Andersen
- Ronald A. Rasband
